What’s Become of Firefly Online?

Yes, we’re well aware that a fraction of people don’t like to be reminded of the ill-fated cult-hit Firefly, which went out way before its time. Stay with us though, dear Browncoats, because you might be interested in hearing this.

You may have heard of Firefly Online, a MMORPG/brainchild of Quantum Mechanix and Spark Plug Games based on Joss Whedon’s tv show. We got our first taste of it via teaser trailer at Comic-Con 2013. The video is right above if you haven’t seen it yet, or if you want to watch it all over again (Is it the tenth time? The fiftieth? We won’t judge!):

In the same year, fans were treated to concept art and other teasers of Firefly Online. It seemed like the game was in the right hands, too- like most of us, Quantum Mechanix supposedly loves Firefly and its fandom, so we know genuine passion is going to fuel development. Browncoats rejoiced even more in 2014, when it was announced that the cast of the original show were reuniting to lend their talents to the game. Additionally, people were led to believe that Firefly Online would be playable in spring 2015- but we’re already in the first quarter of 2016.

Understandably, fans are getting apprehensive over what’s become of this new game- will we get anything solid out of this project, or will it ultimately end up sharing the same fate as its predecessor, abruptly cut off well before it got the conclusion it so rightly deserved?

You can rest easier, because Spark Plug Games CEO John O’Neill assured us that the game is currently in Alpha testing and had the following to say about their progress:

We are balancing the remaining features with community feedback and users’ experience.

And as to why we haven’t gotten the game yet, getting all the original actors on board supposedly forced them to scrap a lot of the work they had already laid down, because featuring the original characters weren’t in their initial plans. “We’re having to change everything,” states O’Neill. Still, he acknowledges how awesome is to have the Serenity crew reunite for their project: “Who wouldn’t want to be around Malcolm Reynolds [and] get on his bad side?”

O’Neill goes on to say that they are “looking at how we get the product to a launch state.” They’re also plotting out what updated features to reveal to fans, and when to do so. O’Neill goes on to say,

We don’t want to let the fans down by saying something that’s wrong again. […] We feel a very strong responsibility to make sure that any information going forward is accurate and doesn’t change.

So what do you think? Do you think having the crew of the Serenity on board is worth the delay?